Child social development theories

Child Development TheoriesJanuary 15, 2014

Child development that occurs from birth to adulthood was largely ignored throughout much of history. Children were often viewed simply as small versions of adults and little attention was paid to the many advances in cognitive abilities, language usage, and physical growth that occurs during childhood and adolescence.

Interest in the field of child development finally began to emerge early in the 20th-century, but it tended to focus on abnormal behavior. Eventually, researchers became increasingly interested in other topics including typical child development as well as the influences on development.

Why is it important to study how children grow, learn, and change? An understanding of child development is essential because it allows us to fully appreciate the cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and educational growth that children go through from birth and into early adulthood. Some of the major theories of child development are known as grand theories; they attempt to describe every aspect of development, often using a stage approach. Others are known as mini-theories; they instead focus only on a fairly limited aspect of development, such as cognitive or social growth.

The following are just a few of the many child development theories that have been proposed by theorists and researchers. More recent theories outline the developmental stages of children and identify the typical ages at which these growth milestones occur.

Source: psychology.about.com

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It is merely a perspective.

by wondering-aloud

When i mention educational philosophies and theories of cognition in this forum it is in the context of recognizing the thought patterns that contribute directly and inadvertently to the formation of biases and discrimination and understanding the possibility for diminishing them without unintentionally reinforcing them in some barely perceptible aspect.
piaget is useful in identifying cognitve patterns that exist. regio emilia is useful in demostrating the possibility of a child directed learning environment, i haven't mentioned montessori but i appreciate how an educational philosophy that was developed to assist children with academic and social limitations master life skills was found to assist the development of academic skills in children who were not hindered by academic or social limitations

Major motor skills Children aged 5–7 years old can skip, and have strong ball skills. Fine motor skills Children can colour...

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